In Brave the Wild River (W.W. Norton, 2023), science journalist Melissa L. Sevigny tells the story of two pioneering botanists, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, and their historic boat trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in the summer of 1938. At the time, the Colorado was famed as the most dangerous river in the world. But for Clover and Jotter, it held a tantalizing appeal: no one had surveyed the Grand Canyon’s plants, and they were determined to be the first. Through the vibrant letters and diaries of the two women, Sevigny traces their forty-three-day journey and explores how their botanical research remains vital to this day.

Melissa L. Sevigny is a science journalist at KNAU (Arizona Public Radio). She has worked in water policy, sustainable agriculture, and space exploration, and is the author of Under Desert Skies and Mythical River. She lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. Learn more about her at www.melissasevigny.com